War has reached your doorstep: Taliban to Sharif

Lahore: The Pakistani Taliban faction behind the brutal Easter Sunday suicide bombing at a crowded park here has warned that the terror attack was a "message" to the government about their "arrival" in Punjab, as the death toll yesterday rose to 74 after two more persons succumbed to their injuries.

Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed the attack, saying they carried out "this attack to target Christians." "Also, this is a message to the Pakistani Prime Minister that we have arrived in Punjab," the group’s spokesman said.

The spokesman even taunted PM Nawaz Sharif on Twitter. "After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old words to give himself false assurances," he wrote. "Nawaz Sharif should know that war has reached his doorstep, and God willing the mujahideen will be the winners in this war."

Sharif yesterday vowed to eliminate terrorism. "Terrorists cannot dent our resolve. Our struggle will continue until the complete elimination of the menace of terrorism," he said.

On Facebook, the group released the bomber’s photo, identifying him as Salahuddin Khorasani.